The gas price hike hearing in the new industry was in uproar. The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) was forced to rush to a lunch break due to the noise.
The hearing began at the BIAM Auditorium on Wednesday (February 26). First, Petrobangla presented its proposal. Then, various distribution companies presented their presentations.
The cross-examination began at 12 noon. First, CAB's energy advisor Dr. M Shamsul Alam came to cross-examine. He spoke for about 50 minutes. He called the proposal extremely anti-people. He said that this unreasonable proposal should not have been taken into consideration.
CAB's energy advisor Shamsul Alam said that by importing not only fuel but also all products, the country is becoming dependent on imports. The proposal to increase gas prices is extremely anti-people. There can be no public hearing on this proposal. It must be stopped. At this time, the businessmen, CAB representatives and representatives of other organizations participating in the hearing started chanting slogans demanding the hearing to be stopped. They started chanting slogans like ‘Stop the farce hearing, it has to be done, I don’t accept it, I don’t accept it.’
At the end of the speech, Shamsul Alam walked out of the remaining part of the session, making three demands. After his speech, CPB General Secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince came to deliver his speech.
And then some student, industrial owners became protestors. The students kept chanting slogans demanding the hearing to be stopped. The BERC Chairman tried to stop them repeatedly, but the commotion continued. At this time, they demanded that the proposal to increase the gas price be rejected by next Sunday, saying that if their demands were not met, this application could turn into a movement. After a few minutes of this, the Chairman announced a lunch break a few minutes before the scheduled time and left the hall room.
The hearing resumed at 2 pm. It has been proposed to increase the price of gas supplied to industrial boilers and industrial generators (captive) from Tk. 30 and Tk. 31.75 respectively to Tk. 75.72. A hearing is being held on it.
In the proposal to increase the price of Petrobangla, it is said that the current import price of LNG per cubic meter is Tk. 65.70. Adding VAT-tax and other charges, it stands at Tk. 75.72. As a result, to sustain this sector, the gas price gap will have to be reduced. If LNG is imported as planned, Petrobangla will have a deficit of about Tk. 16,161.71 crore in the current fiscal year.
In the proposal to increase the price of Petrobangla, it is further said that the gradual decrease in the amount of domestic gas supply has had the greatest impact on industrial and captive electricity. Of the gas supplied, about 75 percent is available from domestic gas fields, while the remaining 25 percent is being imported by importing LNG. Domestic gas production may gradually decrease and LNG imports will increase. The import volume will stand at 75 percent in the 2030-31 fiscal year.
Business leaders and organizations have reacted strongly to this process of increasing gas prices. They have demanded an immediate stop to the process of increasing gas prices. They believe that industrialization will be stopped if the proposal is approved.
BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed, members Mizanur Rahman, Dr. Syeda Sultana Razia, Md. Abdur Razzak and Shahid Sarwar are taking the hearing.